To rationalize a substantial income share of labor despite progressive task automation over the centuries, we present a simple model in which demand moves along a vertically differentiated production structure toward goods of increasing sophistication. Automation of more sophisticated goods...

This paper empirically tests the hypothesis that landed elites may block technological change and economic development if they fear that they will lose future political power (Acemoglu and Robinson (2002, 2006, and 2012). It exploits a plausible exogenous change in the distribution of political...

Digitalisation has a major impact on labour markets in developing countries. While Internet access expands, digital platforms proliferate and "gig-work" is performed in the Global South, access to and use of digital technologies remains far from universal. As the scope and speed of...

Empirical evidence in Dauth et al. (J Eur Econ Assoc, 2021) suggests that industrial robot adoption in Germany has led to a sectoral reallocation of employment from manufacturing to services, leaving total employment unaffected. We rationalize this evidence through the lens of a general...

Arbeitslosigkeit durch rapide technische Neuerungen wird von vielen in der nahen Zukunft befürchtet. Auch die Einkommensverteilung und damit der gesellschaftliche Zusammenhalt können noch stärker in Schieflage geraten. Worin liegen die Gefahren der sogenannten 'Vierten Industriellen...

Data is the ‘new oil'. Data has been widely regarded as the main innovation driver in information technology and several other segments of developed economies. Inherent value of data has a significant transformational power. Realization of value of data drives the rapidly expanding data-driven...

This paper explores the heterogeneous effects of automation technologies on employment rate with respect to proportion of skilled workers, represented by regions from different income groups. Automation, as measured by both robotic penetration and ICT trade volumes, are replacing US labour...

We analyze investment decisions when information is costly, with and without delegation to an agent. We use a rational-inattention model and compare it with a canonical signal-extraction model. We identify three "investment conditions". In "sour" conditions, no information is acquired and no...

To rationalize a substantial income share of labor despite progressive task automation over the centuries, we present a simple model in which demand moves along a vertically differentiated production structure toward goods of increasing sophistication. Automation of more sophisticated goods...

A recent wave of economic research has studied the transformation of China from a poor country in the 1970s to a middle-income economy today. Based on this literature, we discuss the factors driving China’s development process. We provide a historical account of China’s rise, fall, and...